The Journey Of Courage
by paulbert
Summary: A young Dragoon in search of a young princess faces dangers beyond his wildest dreams. He must fight through deadly encounters and survive till the end. Please R


Disclaimer: I don't own many of these people or other things. Mostly from The Might and Magic Series.  
  
This story is about a Dragoon who must fulfill a quest for his king. He must rescue his king's daughter from Archibald the king of the darkness. Along the way he meets people that join his party and many deadly monsters.  
  
Once in a distant land there was dragoon called Culgan. He lived up in a city of the clouds called Celeste with people who chose the light side instead of the dark. He was loyal to King Magnus who wisely ruled the light side. Whenever the king was upset, Culgan did what ever he could do. One day Culgan was sent to the throne room of Castle Lambent because King Magnus had an important quest for Keither. Culgan thought what the quest would be this time.  
  
Culgan then asked, "King Magnus, how may I be of service?"  
  
King Magnus then replied "Culgan this will probably be the hardest quest I have ever given to you because my daughter Elizabeth has been kidnapped by the Archibald, king of darkness and I need for you to rescue from him in The Pit and I shall promote you master Dragoon and I may even give you something else.  
  
Culgan hesitated for a moment and then asked "Will you send anyone to aid me in this journey?"  
  
King Magnus replied, "Yes I will be sending you my best archer out of all the ranks." Then King Magnus summoned the archer into the throne room.  
  
Culgan saw that the archer was a woman and then said "What is your name and how good are you in archery?"  
  
The woman replied, "My name is Melanie and my skill in archery is excellent." "I am able to shoot a man in the heart from a hundred yards away and can use magic." Then she said, "What can you do?"  
  
Culgan replied I am able to summon dragons to come to my aid in case I am in danger that is too much for me to handle."  
  
Melanie looked impressed and then said "Shall we be on our way?"  
  
Culgan replied, "Yes let us go."  
  
As they were heading out of the throne room King Magnus stopped them and stopped them and said "Please take accept this token of six thousand gold coins and visit my personal blacksmith and have him make you the best weapons that he can make for your journey."  
  
The blacksmith was deep down inside Castle Lambent and there were rumors that there were giant spiders, rats, and bats down there. Culgan and Melanie were going down the steps leading to the blacksmith when all of a sudden when they reached the bottom three giant spiders attacked them. Culgan covered Melanie while she fired arrows at the spiders. Culgan drew his sword and then slashed at the spiders. The spiders spit poisonous balls, but Culgan and Melanie dodged them.  
  
When they finally killed the last spider Melanie said "That was a close one Keither."  
  
Culgan then replied "Yes it was Melanie and from now on we need to watch our backs and be ready when the monsters decide to come out."  
  
Melanie agreed and then the two started out deeper into Castle Lambent. Up in the distance Melanie could see that there was a torch lit and there was a door beside it. As they were about to when three giant bats and a giant rat came out of their hiding places. Culgan and Melanie drew their weapons ready to kill the monsters when suddenly a short dark shadow came out and killed the monsters with one blow of a giant hammer. Culgan and Melanie thought this was another monster, but when the shadow came into the light they saw that it was a dwarf.  
  
The dwarf asked "Who are you and what are you doing down here?" "It is very dangerous down here with all the monsters.  
  
Culgan then said "I am Culgan Cloud and this is my partner Melanie Harmon and we have been sent by King Magnus to rescue his daughter from king Archibald." "Who are you?"  
  
The dwarf replied, "I am Keither Thunderhammer, King Magnus's personal blacksmith and I am also a barbarian.  
  
Culgan said, "We've been asked by King Magnus for you to make us the best weapons you can."  
  
Keither rubbed his chin and replied "I will only make you those weapons if you take me along with you."  
  
Culgan without hesitating accepted the deal and Keither started right away on the weapons. It took Keither two days to finish the weapons and another three days to finish the armor. When he was finally done he had made Culgan a Double Headed Spear of Strength and Speed, Royal Plate Armor of Protection from Elements, a Plate Helmet of the Gods. He had made Melanie a Great Bow of Precision and Luck and Majestic Leather of Full Protection. The last things he made were for him and he made a Grand Hammer of Power, Chain Mail of Protection, and a Shield of Deflection.  
  
As soon as Culgan got his armor and weapon he said, "These weapons are magnificent."  
  
When all of them got their new weapons and armor on they went out of the room and started out of the castle when all of a sudden a huge flying monster came out of the dark and attacked the party.  
  
Melanie identified the monster and said, "This monster is a inferno bat and they are extremely dangerous." "I never have known that they exist anywhere other than The Pit, but I guess this one must have got out and breed all the other bats."  
  
The whole party drew their brand new weapons and started fighting the Inferno Bat. The Inferno bat fired a fireball at Culgan, but he used his shield to deflect the fireball. Melanie loaded her bow and fired an arrow, but the bat was to fast and it dodged the arrow. Keither took a swing at the bat and the bat also dodged his blow. Finally Culgan threw his spear at the bat. Just as he bat was about to be hit by the spear, it fired a fireball at Melanie and it left her in burns all over her body. The bat didn't see the spear coming and it cut off its head. Both the head and the body fell to the ground. Culgan picked up the head and body to bring to the town hall for a bounty reward.  
  
Melanie was badly burned so Culgan and Keither took her to the healing temple outside of Castle Lambent so that she could be healed. Culgan carried her in his arms and when they reached the temple Culgan laid her on the altar and then two monks came out and chanted prayers. When they were done chanting a light beam came from the ceiling and it healed Melanie.  
  
When the light disappeared Melanie rose up and said "Thank you for rescuing me you guys."  
  
Keither, Culgan, and Melanie then went out of the temple into the town of Celeste. They stopped by the tavern to hear any recent rumors about the world of Erathia. When they went inside the tavern, they saw drunks and men playing a card game called Arcomage which is a two player game in which the players must lower their opponents tower by using cards with a certain amount of damage or recover their tower from recent attacks.  
  
Culgan asked the barkeep "Any recent rumors lately?"  
  
The barkeep replied, "There is one rumor about King Magnus and King Archibald being brothers." "They sat that they came down from the sky in some sort of pod or something and then when they crashed in the Evenmorn Islands they chose different paths and that is why we have the light side and the dark side.  
  
Culgan thought it might no be true and then said to Melanie and Keither "Shall we be on our way?"  
  
Melanie and Keither both replied, "Lets go."  
  
The three went out of the tavern and set out to the town hall to collect the reward for the inferno bat. They passed through the town square and then finally arrived at the town hall. When they went inside, they saw lots of bounty hunters with all kinds of monsters except the inferno bat.  
  
In the background they could here man say "I'm sorry sir that monster is not the month's bounty." "It is the inferno bat.  
  
When Culgan and hi party started to walk to the judges, all the other bounty hunters stared at them because they were the only ones with the inferno bat. When they reached the judges, the judges stared too because they have never seen an inferno bat before.  
  
Culgan then asked the judges "How much is the bounty for this bat.  
  
The judges whispered among themselves and then one of the judges said "The amount we are will to give is three thousand coins.  
  
Culgan rubbed his chin and then asked his party "Should we stay with it or ask for more.  
  
Keither quickly said "Double the price."  
  
Melanie thought for a minute and then said, "I agree with Culgan." "That inferno bat should be more because it almost cost me my life."  
  
Culgan went over to the judges and said, "My party and I want double the amount of gold you're willing to pay us."  
  
The judges whispered to themselves again and then the same judge replied, "It is a deal."  
  
One of the judges counted out the gold coins and then gave it to Culgan and his party and asked, "If I may ask, where did you get this inferno bat?" "Did you have to go down to The Pit or did you find it some where else.  
  
Culgan then replied "We found it in the bottom of Castle Lambent  
  
The judge was surprised and then he said, "I have heard that they only exist in The Pit."  
  
Culgan then said to the judge "I was told that too, but I guess this one somehow got out and the it breed in Castle Lambent."  
  
Culgan split the gold and gave two thousand to each person including himself.  
  
Culgan and his party were heading for the door when all of a sudden one of the bounty hunters jumped out in front of hem and said, "Give me all or else my men an I will have no choice but to kill you.  
  
Culgan and his party drew their weapons and then Culgan said, "I'm afraid we cannot do that and you are wrong, we won't die, but you and your party."  
  
The head Culgan and his party drew their weapons and then Culgan counted five bounty hunters including the head bounty hunter. One of the bounty hunters charged Melanie and was about to take her head off with his sword, but as the hunter was about to swing, Melanie fired and arrow and his hit the bounty hunter in the heart. The bounty hunter yelled with pain and then fell to the ground. Keither charged at one of the bounty hunters and h bounty hunter saw him coming and took a swing and missed. Keither lifted up his hammer and swung with all his might and when he swung the hammer he took off the bounty hunter's head. Blood spilled on the ground and the body and head fell to the ground. Then two of the bounty hunters charged at Culgan. They were on the other side of the room so Culgan threw his spear like a Frisbee and it cut both bounty hunters in half. The two bounty hunter's bodies just fell to the ground. Now the only hunter left was the leader.  
  
Culgan and his party stared at the leader still left standing and then Culgan said "Bounty Hunter are you sure you want to kill us for our gold or would you rather run away now.  
  
The bounty hunter didn't say anything and he just ran out the door.  
  
Culgan said to his party "Lets go now."  
  
The two agreed and they started out of the tavern and into Celeste's streets. Culgan and his party started off to the teleporter that leads to Bracada Desert.  
  
They stepped on the teleporter and were down to Bracada Desert. Bracada Desert was on the light side. The rival to Bracada Desert was Deyja that was the only way in to The Pit. Culgan and his party had to ride griffins around because every thing was on high land. Griffins in the region were very skilled fighters because they had the advantage of flying and they also had long sharp nails enough to cut through a man. Culgan and his party were lucky to find three griffins for each person. Melanie whistled to the griffins and they instantly went to the party. Culgan and his party got on a griffin and then asked the griffins to take the to the inn so they could rest. The griffins landed at the entrance and the party got off and headed into the inn.  
  
Culgan then said, "I think we should rest before we head off on our quest."  
  
Keither and Melanie agreed and they all went into the inn. Inside was very nice and cozy because there was a fireplace.  
  
They went over to the owner and Culgan asked "How much is it for two rooms."  
  
The owner replied "Fifty gold coins a night for each person."  
  
Culgan agreed and he paid one hundred and fifty gold coins to the owner. After they paid Culgan and Keither went into one of the rooms and Melanie went into the room next to them. Culgan and Keither took off their armor and weapons and relaxed on the beds.  
  
Culgan decided that he needed to go get something to eat and drink so he asked Keither "Do you want anything to eat or drink because I'm going to get something."  
  
Keither replied, "I'll just go with you.  
  
When they left the room they saw that everything was trashed and that the owner was slashed to bits by some kind of monster. They quickly ran back to into the room and grabbed their armor and weapons. As soon as they go them on they yelled to Melanie to do the same. When all three of them were ready they looked all over the room and then finally spotted the monsters. Culgan asked Melanie if to identify the monsters.  
  
Melanie looked at them a then said, "These monsters are devil workers, fighters and a devil lord." "They only can be summoned from The Pit so I guess King Archibald sent them.  
  
There were six devils and they all red, glowing and had claws that were long as a dagger. Culgan and his party quickly got ready to fight the monsters. Melanie fired an arrow at a devil worker, but the devil worker fired a fireball at the arrow and it blew it up. One of the devil fighters fired fireball at Culgan, but Culgan saw it coming and he threw his spear and it blew up the fireball and killed the devil by going through it. The devils started getting closer and when they were close enough they tried to slash at Culgan and his party, but as soon as they were about to hit Culgan, he chanted some words and then three little dragons appeared and Culgan whispered to them attack the devils. The little dragons attacked with their claws, teeth, and sometimes a fireball.  
  
When they were finished the only devil left was the devil lord and the little dragons couldn't fight anymore because they were tired.  
  
The devil commander decided to run, but as soon as it reached the door, Melanie said "Acid ball."  
  
No sooner did she say that a ball of acid fired at the devil lord and it melted the devil into a puddle of ooze.  
  
Melanie then said "I guess those devils were sent by King Archibald to kill us."  
  
Culgan agreed and said "Let us be on our way before King Archibald sends more monsters to eliminate us.  
  
Keither and Melanie agreed and the party set off to The Pit in hope of rescuing Elizabeth. Culgan and his party went to Bracada's stables to make the journey quicker to The Pit.  
  
When they arrived at the stables, Culgan asked the owner where he was going and the owner replied, "I am going to Tularean Forest and then you can see the stable master in Tularean Forest and see where he will be going  
  
When they arrived at Tularean Forest they were fatigued from all the traveling and fighting. Tularean Forest was a village of the Elves. The elves were experts in magic and archery. When they got to the town they decided that they would go to the inn first and rest before exploring around. When they got to the inn they saw that the name was the Potted Pixie. When they went inside, they saw lots of Elven men and women.  
  
Culgan went over to the owner and asked "How much is it for two rooms?"  
  
The owner replied "Sixty gold coins for one night in each room."  
  
Culgan agreed and then the owner showed them to their rooms. The rooms were very fancy with two beds and a nice view from a window. The beds were made out of Tularean wood and they were also had decorative pillows and blankets.  
  
Culgan then said "Don't you think this room is nice with all the decorations and how neat the room is."  
  
Keither replied, "Yes, this room is very beautiful, but lets not worry about that right now and lets get some sleep.  
  
Culgan agreed and they both took off their armor and weapons and then lay down on the comfortable beds. In Melanie's room she did the same. Culgan was the first to wake up and he yawned and stretched and then woke up Keither. Keither slept for a little more and then finally woke up. They grabbed their weapons and armor and put them on. They went over to Melanie's room and woke her up and told her to get ready.  
  
When she was done, they ask went over to the owner and then Culgan asked "Do you know of any good place where we can get something to eat because we haven't eaten in a while  
  
The owner replied, "A good place for food is Elven Tavern because it has excellent food and it's not that expensive.  
  
Culgan thanked the owner and him and his party set off to the tavern. They found the tavern and it also was a decorative place like the inn. Inside it smelled of herbs and spices. Culgan and his party's mouths started to water because of the wonderful aromas.  
  
They went over to the owner and then Culgan asked, "What kind of meals do you have today?"  
  
The owner replied "We have the daily which is roasted griffin and hydra tails or the special which is a full meal that includes sweet apple soup, dragon wings, wart hog drenched in orange sauce, and for desert two sweet harpy wings covered with herbs and sweet spices.  
  
Culgan then asked "How much is it for three specials?"  
  
The owner replied, "For three people it would one hundred and fifty gold coins."  
  
Culgan didn't hesitate and paid the gold to the owner. The owner told them to find a table and that he would bring out the food. They sat down at a table and then Culgan saw a lone person sitting alone.  
  
Culgan went over to the person and asked, "You seem hungry can we get you anything?"  
  
The person turned to face Culgan and said "Yes that would be kind of you because I haven't eaten in days.  
  
Culgan then asked her to join his party and him at their table and then he asked, "If I may know what is your name?"  
  
The Elven lady replied, "My name is Moonlight Star." "What is yours?"  
  
My name is Culgan and this is my party" He pointed to Keither and said, "this is Keither Thunderhammer and the other one Melanie Strom and we are on a quest from King Magnus to rescue his daughter from The Pit."  
  
Moonlight looked amazed and said, "You must have had an adventure so far."  
  
Culgan replied, "Yes it has been and adventure for me and my party."  
  
After he said that, the owner came out with their food and Culgan asked the owner "We need another special for our friend Moonlight."  
  
The owner replied "That will be another fifty gold coins."  
  
Culgan paid and then the owner disappeared into the kitchen. Culgan and his party decided that would wait until Moonlight got her food. It took about fifteen minutes for the owner to come out with Moonlight's food and as soon as the owner put it on the table everyone started to eat. They ate fast, but not fast enough to look like hogs.  
  
When they were done, everyone was full and then Moonlight said "Thank you for the wonderful meal." "I must now tell you who I am." "I am an Elven druid and if it is no problem I would like to join your party.  
  
Culgan replied "No it would be no problem and it would be our pleasure for you to join us."  
  
Moonlight was very pleased and then she said, "Shall we be on our way?"  
  
Culgan agreed and him and his party headed for the door. They decided that they would go to the stables and then see where the stable master will be going.  
  
They went over to the stables and then asked the owner "Where are you going."  
  
The owner replied, "I am going to Sweet Water and then I think the owner there will be going to Deyja."  
  
Culgan then asked, "How much would it be for three people to ride o Sweet Water."  
  
The owner replied, "It would be one hundred twenty gold coins in all."  
  
Culgan agreed and them his and his party set off towards Sweet Water."  
  
When they arrived at Sweet Water they saw that werewolves cursed the town. There is said to be a witch that cast the curse on the people as soon as they step into her lair. The people don't know when anything until it is a full moon and then they turn into werewolves. They stay like that forever until someone brave enough slays the witch and then the curse is broken. Many brave men have tried, but they would never come back. Culgan and his party decided that they would stay in Sweet Water and break the curse. They walked over to the cavern to see any recent rumors about the town. As they were going to the tavern four werewolves that looked like they were hungry for human flesh ambushed them. Culgan and his party got ready to fight these evil monsters.  
  
Melanie identified the werewolves and said "These are the less dangerous kind of werewolves, but they can still be dangerous if they catch you off guard.  
  
One of the werewolves attacked Keither, but as soon as the werewolf was about to strike Keither, he swung his hammer and it smashed the werewolf's body in half.  
  
Moonlight suddenly said "Fireball." And a fireball came out of her hands and then it hit the group of werewolves and killed two of the werewolves. Now there was only one werewolf left and it looked like it was going to fight to its death. It charged and Melanie, but Melanie fired an arrow and it hit it in the arm. The werewolf howled with pain and it ripped the arrow out and charged once again at Melanie. This time she fired an arrow at its heart and then as soon as the arrow went into the werewolf it just fell down dead.  
  
Melanie then said "That was a close one wasn't it guys?  
  
Culgan agreed and then him and the rest of the party decided that they would go to the inn to rest for a day and then try to break the curse of Sweet Water. They found the inn in the corner of the town near the stables. When they went inside they didn't find many people inside and the place was trashed. Actually the only person inside the inn was the owner and he looked like he wasn't going to stay much longer in Sweet Water.  
  
Culgan went over to the owner and asked "How much is it for two rooms?"  
  
The owner replied, "It is twenty gold coins."  
  
Keither asked "Why is it so cheap?"  
  
The owner replied "It is so cheap because the real challenge is surviving while you are sleeping because of the werewolves." "So do you still want those two rooms?  
  
Culgan replied "Yes we will still take those rooms even if the werewolves will try to kill us in our sleep."  
  
The owner looked at Culgan with that look that means are you crazy and then said, "Your room is at the end of the hall on the left and right."  
  
Culgan and his party went down to the end of the hall and then the men went into one room and the ladies went into the other.  
  
When Culgan and Keither went into their rooms they took off their armor and then Keither quickly said, "Is it me or does this place smell like the dead."  
  
Culgan sniffed the air and then said, "It does smells like the dead." "But right now I don't really care about that because I am really tired."  
  
Keither agreed and him and Culgan lay in bed and tried to go to sleep. Even though they tried to sleep they couldn't because they had to stay alert through night so the werewolves couldn't kill them in their sleep. About in the middle of the night they heard a scream from Melanie and Elizabeth's room. They quickly grabbed their armor and weapons and headed for the other room. When they went inside they found that two big werewolves were attacking Melanie and Elizabeth. They saw that Melanie and Elizabeth were all ready so they ran over to them and covered them from the werewolves.  
  
Melanie then said," Thank you for coming to our aid." "These werewolves are the greater werewolves which is the strongest of all werewolves. "They are extremely dangerous because or their long claws and teeth and their muscular power.  
  
Culgan then said, "What is the quickest way to kill these werewolves."  
  
Melanie said, "You have to break that amulet that they have around their necks, but that could be a problem because it's made out of diamond."  
  
Keither then said "Don't you guys have any spells that could break it?"  
  
Moonlight replied, "I think I have a spell called "Rock Blast" that might make the amulet explode."  
  
Culgan then said "Use it against them and maybe it will work."  
  
Moonlight had a glow from her and she said "Rock Blast" and a rock came flying from her hand."  
  
The impact was so strong it blew the werewolves out of the room and also broke the amulet. Culgan decided that he would go check and see if they were dead. He went over to the bodies and saw that they turned back to humans and that they looked unconscious.  
  
Culgan and his party went over to the owner and then Culgan said, "I think we killed the werewolves that were eating all your customers."  
  
The owner replied, "Thank you for helping me now if you want to try you can try and kill the witch that cursed this town."  
  
Culgan then said, "That's what we are going to do." "If you could tell us where is the witches lair?"  
  
The owner replied "It is at the edge of town and the cave looks like a giant mouth ready to eat anyone who comes through its mouth."  
  
Culgan thanked the owner and him and his party set off towards the lair in hope of killing the witch. They went to the edge of town and they could see the lair from a distance. The entrance did look like what the owner said and they stepped inside. Inside it smelled sour and there were bones all over the place.  
  
Moonlight said "Torchlight" and a light came from her hand and lighted up the lair.  
  
Six werewolves soon ambushed them but Moonlight remembered what to do and she said "Rock Blast" and a rock came out hit the werewolves and broke their amulets. They did this did this the whole way until they came to a wooden door that was locked? Culgan thought it was where the witch was hiding and he told Moonlight to blast down the door with a spell  
  
Moonlight soon had a glow coming from her and she said "Fire Spike" and I spike burning with fire bashed down the door and set fire to it.  
  
Inside they saw many spell books and scroll and then finally found the witch being guarded by two greater werewolves.  
  
Moonlight just said "Rock Blast" and the two werewolves got blown away."  
  
Now the witch was the only one left. She tried to beg for mercy from Culgan and when she got close enough she pulled out a dagger and tried to thrust it in to Culgan, but Culgan knew it was coming and he dodged it and he cut off her head with his spear. She yelled and then there was a glow from her and all the werewolves turned back into people.  
  
Culgan then said "Lets head out to Deyja and get Elizabeth back."  
  
The party agreed and when they went out of the tavern all the towns' people greeted them. They were all saying thank you and then the mayor came up to them and gave them a reward. The reward was a free ride to Deyja and with grand horses too. They went over to the stables and the owner greeted them and then they set off to Deyja. When they arrived in Deyja thy saw that the town was not very big and they could also see The Pit entrance from where they were standing. They saw that it was guarded by warlocks and vampires, so they decided that they would sneak up on them and then attack. 


End file.
